1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a vehicle reservoir tank. More specifically, the present invention relates to a vehicle reservoir tank that prevents the spilling of fluid during vehicle movement.
2. Background Information
Currently, most automotive vehicles use a “water cooled” internal combustion engine. Typically, an engine coolant (liquid) is forcefully circulated by a water pump through a cooling circuit that includes an engine coolant jacket of the engine and an air cooled radiator. The cooling circuit is also typically provided with a vehicle reservoir tank, which is fluidly connected to the radiator, which then provides the engine coolant to the engine. Some vehicle reservoir tanks have an overflow port to prevent the fluid from flooding components of the vehicle.
During vehicle movement, such as transportation of vehicles to a dealer, the vehicle is often tilted and jostled such that the coolant in the reservoir tank is sloshed around and sometimes spills out of the overflow spout. Thus, the coolant or fluid in the vehicle reservoir tank can unnecessarily spill out of the overflow spout. This can result in a loss of coolant as well as a mess in the engine compartment. If too much coolant is loss than a thermal incident can occur when operating the vehicle. Moreover, if the coolant is not cleaned up from the engine compartment after a coolant spill, then a coolant odor can occur during operation of the vehicle.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved vehicle reservoir tank that prevents unnecessary spillage of fluid during vehicle movement. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.